Enter The Mystique
by Aya1
Summary: Duo dreams of fantasy and adventure even though everyone thinks his head is in the clouds. A mysterious stranger comes into his life and gives him all the adventure he could ever want. AU, Fantasy, YAOI


Title: Enter The Mystique

Author: Aya

Pairings: 1x2, R+1

Warnings: AU, Fantasy, Mild Lemon, Violence

Rating: R

Disclaimers: I do not own Gundam Wing, so don't sue me.

Note: Okay, I took a chance with this fic because I've never written anything like it before. ^^; It's more of a fantasy thing and I usually lean more towards dark angst. If you actually like it, pleease drop me a line because I'm really nervous about it. My confidence has been on a one way trip to hell lately.

Extra Note: *glomps Sunhawk, the best beta reader in the whole world* She reeeally helped me with this fic, especially the farming parts. *_*

"Don't forget to weed the garden, you always say you're going to do it and then you put it off. Sometimes you can be so lazy, son. I just don't know what to do with you. You let your chores pile up, you never feed the horses, Relena does more work than you do and she is only a child!" Sage Maxwell railed at his son.

Duo Maxwell rolled his eyes and began to roll up the scroll he had been sporadically scribbling on. "Relena is not a child, Father. She is nearly fifteen winters old!"

"Don't sass me, boy! When I pass on to the good spirits, your mother and sister are going to need you to be the man of this family. You are going to have to learn to become a farmer and learn to be a man! You can't just lay about the house and write nonsense about those... those *creatures*." Sage snapped as he began tying his long flame-red hair in a ponytail.

"It's not nonsense! And if those 'creatures' are so bad, why are you always preaching about spirits? How do you even know that these spirits exist!? At least we know the Fey and the Elves actually exist. Where's your proof that your beloved spirits do? And you don't have to be so dramatic, Father. You're only thirty-five winters old. You won't be passing on for a very long time," Duo snapped back as he tied a black ribbon around his newest story. 

"I'm tired of your disrespect, young man. None of the other boys in the village act like you. They have their heads on straight! They know where they are going, while you have your head in the clouds! Why do you have to be so... so... "

"So unique? Well I'm sorry, Father. I'm sorry for trying to be different than everyone else. I'm sorry for having goals that don't involve threshing wheat and feeding stupid animals!" With that, Duo stormed out of the front door of their small farmhouse before his father could get in another word. He headed towards the garden and grabbed the hoe as he strode quickly from the house. He knew he was different than everyone else and he wasn't ashamed of it. ****

"That was stupid, Duo! Getting Papa angry is a silly thing to do~o! Now you're in trouble!" A sing song voice called from across the yard.

Duo snorted and slung the tool over his shoulder. "Go away, Relena."

"You can't make me! Papa said I could come out here and play since *I* finished all *my* chores." The small blonde girl skipped over to him, long honey colored hair dancing in the breeze. "If you didn't always have your head in a scroll maybe you wouldn't get screamed at so much. 'Sides, the other boys your age are already getting married and being grown up, while you haven't even started courting a girl yet!"

"I don't want to court a girl. Besides - I'm only seventeen winters, I don't want a stupid family." Duo poised the tool and started diligently at his task. "Now go away and let me work!"

His younger sister stuck her tongue out childishly before backing away. "I'm going to the spring to play! I'll be back by supper!"

"Aren't you afraid that the 'evil creatures' will get you, if you go in the Shadow Forest?" He asked mockingly, sweat was already glistening on his lean body as he worked.

"All of those nasty things are dead! The good spirits killed them, so nyah!" With that, the blonde girl darted across the field, towards the looming trees of the forest.

"Again with the spirits..." Duo muttered and rolled his eyes. He began chopping at the weeds furiously, fueled by his annoyance and impatience to get back to his new fantasy story.

~***~

Relena ran through the woods, navigating her way through the bushes and trees easily. The spring in the northern part of the forest was one of the prettiest things she had ever seen, especially since it was right near a small waterfall. Colorful fish inhabited the spring and birds often drank from the cool water. She loved to feed and play with the animals.

The teenage girl slowed to a brisk walk and straightened her rumpled dress as she approached her special spot. As she neared her destination, she noticed something very peculiar. The usual sounds of the forest were strangely silent. Usually the birds were chirping and she could hear insects trilling, but today even the leaves on the trees seemed to be completely still. "Hello little friends! I've come to feed...." Her sentence trailed off as she spotted a dark form, sprawled on the rocks right near 'her' spring.

With a soft gasp, Relena hurried towards the form and saw that it was a man. She did not recognize him as one of the villagers and he was by far the strangest looking man she had ever seen. He was clad all in black. Black leather pants, a black tunic and a black cloak that was around his broad, muscular shoulders. 

****

His features were striking, every part of his face looked as if it had been chiseled from stone. His lips were soft and red and his chocolate hair was tousled over his forehead in a careless manner. He also had the longest eyelashes Relena had ever seen. Strange, yes.. But also very handsome.

Relena smiled delightedly as the sunlight played on the sharply defined muscles of his upper arms. "My.." She whispered and her cornflower blue eyes lit up. Fantasies began racing through her head. Childish ideas about marriage and exotic princes sweeping her off her feet. However, as she moved closer she noticed something extremely startling. He wasn't moving at all... he wasn't even breathing. Fear rushed through her body at the notion that her prince was dead. It wasn't fair! She had just found him!

So she did the only thing she could think of in such a situation. She screamed.

"PAAAPAAAA!!!"

~***~

"Is he dead?!" Relena wailed mournfully as she pressed her face against her mother's side.

"No idiot, he's just passed out." Duo retorted with a roll of his violet eyes.

"Don't call your sister an idiot!" Sage snapped irritably, as he crouched beside the stranger.

After Relena had shrieked and ran back to the house, Duo and his father had carried the strange young man back to the farm. They had discovered that he was not dead, but probably passed out from exhaustion. Sage and Duo had stripped the man of his cloak and tunic to check for further injuries but had found none. He had not even roused when Duo and his father had undressed him and Sage had reluctantly placed the man on his own bed. 

"I wonder what he was doing in the forest." Ariana Maxwell murmured softly. She leaned closer to the unconscious man and studied his exotic features. "He definitely isn't from around here."

"Maybe he's a traveler." Duo suggested. He looked over at the unconscious man with interest. He looked to be a few years older than Duo, maybe twenty three winters old. The longhaired boy's mind supplied all kinds of fascinating reasons for the stranger's condition. Maybe he was a warrior from one of the other kingdom's and he had lost his way in the Shadow Forest. Perhaps he was on a quest to deliver an urgent message to the king. His handsome features had an elegant and aristocratic air to them. He could possibly be royalty himself. Perhaps a prince trying to escape a betrothed marriage? The possibilites were endless.

"A vagabond." Sage sniffed disdainfully. "From the look of him, he's probably trouble. I say we just put him back where we found him and mind our own business."

"Sage!"

"Daddy!"

"Whatever."

"We can't just leave the poor boy out in the woods! He's obviously not well and I would feel horrible about leaving him at the mercy of wild animals!" Ariana protested.

"It's not our problem!" Sage snapped at his wife.

"Not our problem?! Sage Maxwell, I'm surprised at you! Man's biggest sin is turning his back on those in need!"

"In need?! Don't forgot about what happened the last time we helped someone in 'need'!" Sage snarled at his wife furiously.

Ariana gasped and stared at her husband in shock. She looked away and clenched her hands into fists. "Sage, please try to be reasonable. He is a young man! He can't possibly survive in the forest in this condition!"

Duo tuned the rest of the conversation out and let his eyes feast on the stranger. He was easily the most attractive man Duo had ever seen and just the sight of all of those sleek muscles being displayed, made him weak in the knees. He looked like one of the magnificent knights that previously only existed in Duo's imagination and only lived through his stories. It wasn't a shocking thing that Duo was attracted to the man, he had known he preferred males to females since he was twelve years old. But as lovely as this guy was, Duo would much rather hole himself up in his room and lose himself in worlds he could only visit in his imagination instead of standing there, listening to his parents bicker. 

****

Duo dragged his eyes up and was surprised to see that the man was very much awake. Startling bright blue eyes were open and darting around the room at a rapid pace. Duo gasped softly as those eyes seemed to almost... glow and the man must have heard him, because suddenly the hawk like gaze was focused on him. 

Minutes dragged by as the two young men stared at each other. Duo felt himself flush as the blue eyes raked over his body slowly, resting at the area between his thighs before they moved back up to his face. The corner of the man's mouth quirked before he looked away and focused on the still arguing adults. He seemed to realize the gist of the conversation quickly and a frown settled on his face. In one fluid movement he was sitting up and reaching for his tunic. "Where am I?" 

Sage was so surprised by the man's sudden question, that he could only get out a surprised grunt.

Duo rolled his eyes at his parents and decided to act as translator for the universal language of idiot. "You're on our farm. My little sister found you passed out in the woods and we brought you back here." 

The man's eyes focused on him again and they regained that odd.. glow. "I see." 

Duo decided that he liked the stranger's voice. It was husky, deep and very sexy. "I'm Duo Maxwell. These are my parents, Sage and Ariana and that is my little sister Relena."

Relena giggled nervously and stepped forward, smiling brightly at the man. "Hi. I'm the one who saved your life." She bragged boldly.

One dark eyebrow twitched and the traveler gave her a long incredulous look before turning to Duo's parents again. "I did not mean to inconvenience you in anyway and I don't intend to impose any longer. Thank you for your kindness." He didn't seem gracious at all, in fact he seemed to be somewhat put off and irritated about the whole affair. 

"Wait! You can't go!" Relena cried out in alarm. 

The stranger ignored her and stood up slowly, pulling his tunic on. However after only a moment of being on his feet, he stumbled and fell back on the bed with a groan. 

"See! He's not well! Papa! Please don't send him away!" The teenager pleaded desperately. 

"If he thinks he is well enough, he does not need our help. Let the man go about his business and we will go about ours." Sage said sternly, casting a dark glare in the vagabond's direction.

"But! You saw how he couldn't even stand up properly! How's he going to survive in the woods all alone! He'll die!" Relena wailed.

Duo winced at the shrill sound and looked at the dark clad stranger. His eyes were closed and he was taking several deep breaths. He definitely did not seem to be in any condition to travel anywhere. 

"Relena, enough is enough. He obviously seems to think he is well enough, so leave it be." Her father growled impatiently. 

"What would the good spirits say about that kind of attitude? How can you send a man who is obviously in need of care, out into the forest?? You might as well kill him yourself!" Relena cried passionately. 

Duo guffawed at that, but quickly covered it when his parents turned their annoyed glares in his direction. He coughed and looked away, trying not to smirk. His sister could talk almost anyone into anything. He felt sorry for whoever was stupid enough to marry her.

"Relena Annabel Maxwell! Do not speak to your father like that!" Ariana yelled at the girl.

Relena looked at her shoes angrily for a moment before sneaking a glance in her father's direction. He was eyeing the stranger critically, eyes sizing the man up as if he were a horse. "If he stays, he will pull his weight while he is here."

Relena let out a happy yip and bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly. 

Duo could have smacked his father. Was the man really that dense that he actually fell for Relena's little 'what would the good spirits say' speech, again? Sometimes the longhaired teen could not believe he was related to these people. And what was Relena so excited about anyway? She was acting like she was going to marry the man or some.. thing... It suddenly dawned on Duo, why his little sister wanted the stranger to stay so badly and he shook his head in amazement. His sister was really too ridiculous to be alive.

"Can you do that, boy?" Sage demanded harshly, making the word 'boy' sound like a curse. 

The stranger sighed heavily and grimaced. He seemed resigned to the fact that he wasn't fit to travel and the idea seemed to really irritate him. "Yes. Thank you."

"He can stay in the hayloft." Duo offered helpfully. 

"What?!" Relena squawked in outrage. "He is NOT --"

"The hayloft is fine. Thank you... Duo." The name rolled off of Heero's tongue sensually, as if he were caressing it. Once again, that wicked gleam seemed to light up his eyes as he gazed at Duo.

The teen swallowed and shifted from foot to foot nervously. "What do we call you?" He managed to get out, wincing as his voice cracked on the last word.

The man opened his mouth, closed it and then opened it again. "Heero."

"Hero..." Relena breathed dreamily, not even bothering to correct the way she mispronounced his name.

Heero glared at her for a moment before edging carefully off the bed. "I do not know how long it will take me to fully recover, but you will be compensated for whatever you give me. It should not take long for me to regain my strength entirely, maybe two weeks, three at the most."

Sage waved off the promise. "Don't worry about compensation as of now, I doubt you have anything of value anyway. If your recovery succeeds a month, *then* we will work something out. Don't think that means you can freeload for a month, though. As soon as you're healed, you're out." The red haired man gave Heero another critical look, barely able to keep the disdain from his gaze. "As long as you pull your weight, there should not be a problem. If you bring trouble to our home, you can be sure that there will be a price to pay. I don't expect you to do anything too strenuous. Feeding the animals and other menial chores will be fine until you are stronger. You can do the work my good for nothing son refuses to do."

Duo rolled his eyes again. He had long since stopped caring what his father thought of him after the first hundred insults that had been hurled at him when he was five or so. It just didn't matter to him anymore.

He surveyed the way his father was glaring and the way Relena was beaming and decided that it was going to be a very long three weeks. 

~***~

It turned out that Heero had been weaker than anyone really thought because for the first three days all he did was sleep. Relena had made the hayloft somewhat hospitable for their guest and she had even lent him pillows and blankets. The area was starting to look more welcoming than Duo's own uncomfortable bed did. 

At first Relena had brought him food all the time and spent every waking moment hovering over the poor man, but then Sage decided that he did not trust Heero with Relena. 'After all he is still a strange man and you are still a young girl. You will NOT be alone with him anymore.' Then there were a lot of 'But Papa!'s and a lot of arguing, but in the end Sage won out. In Duo's opinion they should have been more worried about Relena trying something on Heero, but of course no one asked for his opinion so he kept it to himself. Duo's parents found ways to keep his sister occupied most of the time once they figured out that she was slightly obsessed with Heero. That left Duo with the job of caring for him for the initial three days, but he really didn't mind. Sometimes he would even bring his scrolls up to the hayloft and write while he sat beside Heero's sleeping form.

It was after sunrise on the third day that Heero finally woke up. Duo did not even notice until he heard the older man grunt softly. He looked up to see blue eyes trained on him, once again possessing that peculiar glow. "How long have I been asleep?" 

Duo cleared his throat and rolled up his scroll. "Three days. You would wake up every now and then, and I'd feed you, but other than that you were out of it."

****

"Hn." Heero sat up and leaned against the wall, brushing stray pieces of straw from his skin. "Have you been here the entire time?"

"Not the entire time, but most of the last two days. My parents finally made Relena stop hounding you after the first day. She thinks she's in love with you, Heero," Duo said with a chuckle.

Heero's expression soured and his mouth twisted in distaste. "Keep the child away from me. Nothing good ever comes of young girls fruitlessly chasing uninterested older men. Feelings get hurt and fathers end up hurling false accusations."

Duo nodded in agreement and pushed the dish of food towards Heero. "Are you hungry? Mother made corn cakes and soup." 

The exotic man grabbed the food and grunted out a thanks, before wolfing it down. 

They sat in silence for a few moments before Duo found the courage to ask the question he had been dying to know the answer to since he had first seen the stranger. "So what happened to you anyway? Father thinks you are some kind of rogue criminal or something stupid like that."

Heero narrowed his eyes and chewed on the corn cake slowly. "If your father truly has a problem with me, I will leave. I am strong enough to travel for a day or so, now that I have rested properly, but I am not strong enough to hunt or defend myself. It is a risk, but I will take it."

"No! Just ignore my father! He has a problem with everybody, even me."

Heero raised an eyebrow at that. "Why would he have a problem with his own son?"

Duo stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles. "I'm not his perception of an ideal son. I don't want to be a farmer or have a big family. I love to write stories about warriors and the Mystics. I find the many races of the Mystics fascinating and I don't believe that they are all evil like everyone else does. I used to try to talk to the elders in town about the Mystic War eighty years ago, but no one told me anything that sounds true. They all made the Mystics sound like savage beasts who ate humans and other such nonsense."

Heero's blue eyes regained their soft glow and his lips turned up into a tiny smile. "I see. What exactly did they try to tell you about the war?" He had an almost feral look on his face as he waited for Duo's answer.

Duo studied the man's handsome face for a moment before speaking. "They told me that the Mystics had started trying to take over the human lands and that they would often raid villages and eat the children." Duo said with a roll of his eyes. "They told me that the only reason why the Seven Kings of the human lands decided to declare war on the Mystics was because they continued to ravage the Seven Kingdoms. They also told me that all of the Mystics were wiped out, but I don't believe any of that."

Heero's smile grew and he looked down right amused. "That is a crock of horse shit."

Duo burst out laughing and cupped his chin with his hands. "You know what really happened?"

The dark haired man reached out and began toying with the end of Duo's long chestnut colored braid. "For thousands of years, the Mystics and the humans coincided peacefully in the Seven Kingdoms. Mystics lived in the villages and sometimes even held royal positions. Each king had a council of Mystics made up of two wizards, a sorceress, an elf and a fairy. Those were not the only races of Mystics, of course. There are many more, but those were the largest races and they were more well known."

Duo's eyes widened in surprised. "There were Mystics in the Royal Court? I never even imagined that the Mystics and Humans lived side by side. People now talk about them with such hate! You'd think it has always been this way!"

Heero gave a one shouldered shrug and continued to toy with the tuft at the end of Duo's braid. "Lies have poisoned the minds of humans. It's not really their fault that they think this way, it's what they have been taught." He offered a small smile. "Children in villages often loved to play with the elves because of their child like appearances and playful nature. Adults and children alike dared to visit the fairies that inhabited the woods, just to get a glance at their otherworldly beauty. It was a time when humans looked up to the Mystics and the Mystics respected the humans."

Duo's eyes gained a far away look as he pondered the possibilities of such a thing. "What happened to change things so drastically? I wish it was still like that now... I could have learned so much from the Mystics. I've always wondered what it was like to be able to pick a wizard's brain or to see a fairy with my own eyes." Duo sighed softly and looked at Heero. "Do you think the fairies are as beautiful as they say?"

Heero smiled indulgently at Duo's inquisitive nature. The boy was just too adorable for his own good. The way his eyes sparkled.. the way his smile seemed to light up the room. He put the fairies to shame. "Yes, they are stunning creatures; especially their wings."

Duo's eyes glazed over and he gazed into space for a moment before shaking his head as if clearing it. "So what happened to change everything? Was there a battle over power? A jealous king?"

Heero's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Well, there was peace for many years, until King Donovan IV of the Third Kingdom came to power. He hated Mystics, because he was under the false impression that they were evil and wanted to rule the humans. He ordered a secret band of soldiers to completely wipe out villages throughout the Seven Kingdoms and he found ways to blame it on the Mystics. After that, the Mystics were banned from villages and not to have any contact with humans at all. They were all put into the Shadow Forest, the span of woods, which runs through all of the Seven Kingdoms. This segregation lasted about a hundred years and that is about the time that the Mystic War broke out."

"What a jackass!" Duo exclaimed with a frown. "It always has to be one idiot to ruin everything for everyone!" He complained. After a few more moments of grumbling, he smiled sheepishly and gestured for him to continue. "So what happened next? Did the Mystics get tired of it and try to get their freedom back?"

"Not quite. A king of the Seventh Kingdom decided that the Mystics should be completely wiped out, and that was the decision that started the war. He deceived the other kings into believing that the Mystics were plotting against them and they all began the epic battle. The humans won surprisingly, but only because many of the Mystics refused to fight. The Mystics are mostly a pacifistic species and only the wizards, sorceresses, trolls and dwarfs relish a good fight. The Mystics were not entirely wiped out, as the humans like to believe, but instead have gone into hiding. They continue to hide, to this day." Heero downed the rest of his soup after he was finished with his tale.

Duo's violet eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at the stranger. "Wow.." He breathed softly. "I knew all of that stuff they try to tell us isn't true! How do you know all of this?"

Heero's lips quirked in a tiny smile. "I found interesting sources."

Duo had a feeling that the man did not plan to further explain so he didn't push. A delighted smile grew across his delicate features as his brain went over this new information. He wanted to spread the truth, but he knew that no one would believe him. He would probably be named a Mystic Lover and thrown in prison or burned. He looked back at Heero and flushed for the twentieth time since the man had shown up. Once again, blue eyes were studying the length of his body, glowing with a feral intensity.

"Why.. why do you look at me like that?" Duo blurted out suddenly.

Heero smirked and carefully laid back on the make shift bed. "Because I have never seen a human who looks like you. You have Elven features. Especially your eyes."

Duo stared at him in surprise and a hand went up to his face slowly. "I.. I'm just a plain old country boy. My eye color is probably just a fluke."

Heero shrugged and closed his eyes. "You are much more than plain, Duo Maxwell."

This was only the beginning of the two young men's growing attraction for each other. Duo was so busy trying to figure out what to make of Heero's last comment that he didn't even realize that the dark haired man had never answered his original question.

~***~

The hot summer days passed slowly and Heero's strength grew by the day. Pretty soon it seemed as though he was fully recovered and it made Duo wonder why exactly Heero remained on the farm. Whatever the reason was, Duo wasn't about to complain. He had grown to appreciate the wanderer's company.

****

Heero proved to be almost inhumanly strong, his muscles barely straining as he did various chores around the farm. He was also quick as lightning and seemed to hear and see things moments before anyone else noticed them. Sage and Ariana quickly warmed to Heero. He practically began taking care of all of the things on the farm without question or complaint when he was fully recovered. Half the time he would wake up before dawn and begin working on things that needed to be done or fixed before anyone even asked him. Maxwell Farm was in the best shape it had ever been in and it was all thanks to the vagabond.

After the first week, Sage started comparing Duo and Heero every chance he got; saying that Heero was what a good son should be like. This didn't really phase Duo; he actually couldn't have cared less. However it obviously bothered Heero because he went out of his way to pay special attention to Duo. The attraction between the two young men grew stronger and they began subtly flirting with each other. No one else caught onto this, not even Relena.

~***~

-Three weeks later-

"You really don't have to do all of this stuff, Heero. I'm perfectly capable of catching a few rabbits on my own." Duo complained mildly as he and his stoic companion trudged into the Shadow Forest.

"I know that." 

Duo cast a look in his direction and his eyes skimmed over the sleeveless black tunic that Heero wore. "Then why do you always insist on following me when I go to hunt? I can take care of myself. I'm not a baby!"

Heero stopped walking and faced Duo, his blue eyes once again gleaming oddly. "I have my reasons, Duo. Besides, I like being around you."

Duo couldn't have kept the silly grin from spreading across his face if he had tried. In the past few weeks, he and Heero had really gotten closer and he had thought of the man as his first real friend. They had a lot in common and Heero was the only one who was willing to listen to his ideas and theories about the Mystics. He was thrilled to hear that Heero liked being around him as well. Duo's smile faded though, as he remembered that the traveler would be moving on soon. His health had returned entirely and the end of the three weeks would be upon them shortly. "I wish you didn't have to leave."

Heero squinted up at the sky. "But I do. I have things I must take care of. I've wasted enough time here."

The last of Duo's good mood evaporated and he couldn't help feeling hurt and rejected by that comment. "Let's just get the rabbits." He said shortly and started walking away.

Heero looked somewhat surprised by Duo's sudden change in attitude, but just as he realized how his comment may have sounded, something sprang out of the bushes with a loud giggle. He glared at Relena as she bounced over to him and clung to his arm. "Hero! I've come to accompany you on your hunt." She said with a bright grin.

Duo glared at his sister, snorted and stalked off into the trees.

Heero growled in annoyance and tugged his arm away from her. "Go home."

"Now Hero, we need to talk about some things if we are going to convince Papa to let you stay."

He stared at her blankly. "What are you going on about, child?"

Her brow wrinkled when he called her 'child' but she quickly covered it with another smile. "It's obvious that you've been trying to court me and I'm almost of marrying age, so..." Relena let the sentence trail off and she beamed at him.

Before Heero could even think of a reply to that, he heard a shout from the direction Duo had gone in, followed by a blood-curdling roar.

~***~

Duo cried out and stumbled backwards as the beast charged towards him. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Easily over seven feet tall, with a mouth full of dagger like teeth and covered with slick midnight black scales. The thing leapt at him again and Duo barely had time to roll out of the way as thick claws swiped at his face. The claws snagged on his shirt and it ripped from his back violently.

"Shit!" The longhaired boy screamed and yanked his dagger from the inside of his boot. The beast snarled at him, showing off the rows of gruesome teeth. "Whatever you are, you aren't taking me without a fight," Duo hissed and dove at the thing, slamming his dagger into its arm viciously.

A high-pitched roar escaped the thing and it grabbed Duo by the neck, hurling him violently into a nearby tree. Duo groaned in pain and tried to scramble to his feet, but the monster was on him before he could move out of the way. The last thing he saw, was claws and teeth coming at him... before all was dark.

****

~***~

"No!!" Heero roared in denial as he entered the clearing.

"Duo!" Relena screamed in horror as she saw her brother splayed on the floor lifelessly.

The once lively boy was nothing more than a bloody body. His chest was covered with huge gashes and blood was gushing out of it like a river. He appeared to be dead and if not, he was clinging to life by a thread. The beast was hovering over him, claws covered with bright red blood.

Relena's tear streaked face turned up to Heero desperately and she gasped in shock at what she saw.

Heero's eyes were glowing bright blue; even the whites had changed color. His teeth were drawn back in a vicious snarl and every muscle in his body seemed to be strung as tight as a bow. The air seemed to crackle around him and a deep, inhuman growling sound escaped his throat. His hands came up and he cupped them under his chin, index fingers extending to rest under his nose as he chanted words in an obscure language.

Relena stumbled backwards as Heero began to chant louder and louder, the air crackling with more intensity as he continued. She was terrified of the monstrous creature, but the sight of Heero had her rooted to the ground. Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound from within the earth and the ground shook fiercely. The large beast turned around and started to run towards Heero, but just as it extended its claws to strike, a huge ball of blue and orange flames escaped Heero's hands and engulfed it.

There was another loud roar and then the monster turned to dust.

"Hero - what..?!" Relena breathed as she gazed at him in awe. She seemed to have forgotten all about her dead brother as she gazed at Heero in astonishment and admiration. 

Heero ignored her and sprinted to Duo's side, whispering urgent words to himself in that strange language as he sank to his knees besides the boy. "Duo.." He whispered, his voice choked with unshed tears. He gently straightened the slender body before him and knelt beside it, assuming the same position as he had before he destroyed the beast. He closed his eyes and began chanting again, this time using different words. An eternity seemed to go by before anything happened, but when it did, Relena cried out in shock and Heero almost sagged in relief.

The wounds on Duo's chest began shifting and moving. Muscle and tissue were mended as skin was closed by invisible thread. The near fatal injuries slowly healed and when it was done, an hour later; Heero collapsed next to his longhaired friend; panting from the effort. 

"By the spirits..." Relena whispered.

Duo's eyelashes fluttered open and the first thing he saw was Heero's incredible eyes gazing back at him. The vagabond smiled weakly and ran a hand down Duo's pale face. "It's okay now." He whispered in a gravelly voice. "You're okay..."

Duo ran his hands over his chest and gasped softly. "Heero... what are you?"

"I'm a Mystic."

~***~

Hours later, in the dead of the night, Duo and Heero lay together in the hayloft; the older man's arms were wrapped securely around his young friend. Although he had been healed, he was still slightly weak. After the incident in the Shadow Forest, Heero had not been willing to let Duo out of his sight for more than five minutes. He seemed to blame himself for what had happened.

After Heero had made his confession, he had pleaded with the siblings not to tell their parents. Nothing good would come of it and there would just be trouble. Relena, who was too taken by her puppy love for the man to care, began bouncing around excitedly, babbling about being the only girl to marry one of 'the only good Mystics.' Heero and Duo had not bothered paying attention to the girl; they instead gazed at each other with obvious affection. The incident had only brought them closer together.

"Heero, I want you to tell me everything. What you are, what you were doing that close to our farm and how you got hurt. If you want me to trust you, you can't leave anything out." Duo murmured as he snuggled close to his friend. 

Heero sighed and ran his fingers through Duo's silky hair. "I have no definite Mystic Race. I am one of a kind."

Duo looked at Heero in confusion. "Explain."

Heero sighed and curled his hand around Duo's braid. "It's a long story.."

"We have time," the longhaired teen said with a pointed glare.

Heero sighed again and nodded. "After the Mystic War was over, almost half of the Mystics were wiped out. The remaining leaders decided that the only way to ensure their survival and the survival of their clans was to create a place where no human could ever go. The leaders of each race worked together to create a Boundary(1) that blocks off their safe haven from the rest of the world."

Duo raised a slender eyebrow. "Couldn't the kings just find a way to destroy or get around it?"

Heero shook his head. "The Boundary is invisible to the mortal eye, and is in the deep parts of the Shadow Forest. The kings are not even aware of the fact that the Boundary exists, so as far as they are concerned the Mystics are gone." The blue-eyed young man paused and looked up into Duo's eyes. "It was discovered soon after the Boundary was created, that although no human can penetrate it, Mystics can go in and out of it freely. Most don't and the ones that do are usually troublemakers or criminals. It was deemed illegal by every leader to cross the Boundary, but some do. This is dangerous because it can clue humans in to the fact that there is a place that still is inhabited by magical things and the Seven Kingdoms could try to find a way to cross." 

The violet-eyed boy narrowed his eyes. "Uh huh..." He processed this information before nodding. "So where do you come in?"

Heero looked away. "The leaders of the Mystic races took the blood of all the dead leaders of each and every Mystic race and used it to create the ultimate hunter and protector. This hunter would have all of the powers of each race combined, would look human and would have the ability to live forever if he never got fatally wounded. They created me. I'm the Boundary Warden.(2) I make sure nothing tries to penetrate the Boundary and nothing tries to get out."

Duo stared at Heero in shock; his large eyes grew even larger and seemed to take up half of his face. "How old are you?" It wasn't an important question but it was the first thing that popped into his mind.

"I am eighty-seven years old."

Duo's brow wrinkled in confusion. "How can you be that old and look this young? You aren't immortal because you can die.. I don't understand."

Heero smiled fondly at his little companion and ran his fingers down the teenager's soft cheek. "If I am terribly wounded, I can die. However since I have the power to heal others and myself, I can live for a very long time. I don't age because the Elven blood in me keeps me permanently young in appearance. There are limits on my powers. I can't use them too many times within a short span of time or I will be severely weakened and defenseless. Since I used my power twice today, I won't be able to do it again for maybe a week." He let out a breath and lay back on the straw bed. "I'm weakened, but not as weak as I was before. I can still function properly, I just need a good rest."

Duo nodded slowly in understanding. "Is that what happened to you when Relena found you by the spring?"

"That day, I was tracking the same creature that attacked you today. It had escaped the Boundary and I was either going to capture it or kill it. The creature is called a Hybrid. It is very deadly and one of the most feared creatures that lives in the Shadow Forest. It managed to wound me very badly when I fought it. I had to use my power to heal myself while I was losing blood, which is why I was left in that extremely weakened condition."

Duo buried his head in Heero's side and shivered slightly. This was all so new to him. He was used to writing about monsters and Mystics but he had never actually experienced anything like it before. His fingers tightened around the material of Heero's tunic. "Why are you telling me all of this? I'm sure it's against the law to fraternize with a human..."

"That it is. But I trust you. And I don't believe all humans are bad."

Duo's lips turned up into a happy smile and he inhaled Heero's unique scent. The question tumbled from his lips before he could stop it. "Why do your eyes glow sometimes when you look at me?"

Heero stiffened beside him and he cleared his throat. A few long moments passed and Duo was starting to think Heero didn't intend to answer, when the soft words reached his ears. "It's because of my lust for you."

Duo gaped at Heero in surprise; his mouth hanging open as his face blushed darkly. "W..what?"

Heero smirked. "Since the moment I saw you standing over me when I opened my eyes, I was incredibly attracted to you. You are the most bewitching creature I have ever seen in the Seven Kingdoms and beyond the Boundary; and I do not say this to flatter you. It is a shame that you are hidden away on this farm."

"Um," The longhaired boy couldn't think of anything more intelligent to say. "So, you want to have sex with me?"

This time it was Heero who flushed. "That's not all," He mumbled. "I have grown.. To care for you. This has never happened to me before so I'm not sure what to do."

They sat in silence for a few moments, before Duo inched his way closer to Heero. "Well, you could kiss me."

Heero hesitated for only a moment before his emotions were let loose like water from a broken dam. His lips covered Duo's with ferocious intensity and then they were upon each other with lust filled desperation. Heero prodded Duo's full lips with his tongue and moaned softly when it slipped inside. Their kisses were hot and fiery, further fueling their long pent up passion.

"Heero..." Duo moaned softly, groaning when the dark haired man pinned him to the wooden floor, pressing their bodies together tightly.

Heero kissed down the long graceful neck, sucking and nipping in certain places, drawing out soft exclamations of pleasure from the younger man. His hands nimbly pulled Duo's dark tunic out of the way, worshipping his chest lovingly with his mouth and tongue. Each pink nipple was tortured until Duo was bucking and biting his lip to contain his loud cries.

One of Heero's large hands undid the tie of Duo's breeches and dipped inside of the loosened fabric. Long fingers wrapped around Duo's aching sex and he could not control the erotic moan that escaped his lips. Once again mouths were pressed together and another impassioned kiss was shared. 

Slender thighs parted and Duo arched himself into Heero's palm easily, reveling in the wanton pleasure of it all. It did not take long for the Mystic to shed his own clothes and soon enough the two men were writhing together fervently. They teased and sucked, kissed and caressed until finally neither of them could take it anymore. The joining was painful for Duo at first, but after awhile he lost himself in the exquisite feelings that overwhelmed his body. Two masculine voices cried out softly into the night, concentrating on each other as if they were the only two beings that mattered in the world.

When it was over, Heero cradled Duo in his arms and pressed gentle kisses to his face lovingly. Soft declarations of affection were exchanged and they fell asleep in each other's arms, lean sweaty bodies were twined together like the threads of life.

They were so far-gone that neither man noticed the young girl who was standing just inside the barn door. Her face was pinched and white, tears tracking down her lovely young face. Relena's eyes were filled with anger and hatred. Hatred for her brother for stealing the man she loved and anger at Heero for playing with her feelings. The livid young woman fled the barn, intending to hurt the two lovers in the only way she knew how.

~***~

When the morning came, there was no cheerful sunrise or happy birds chirping. The sky was overcast with dark clouds that promised rain. Duo and Heero were still lying in each other's arms when night turned into day. Duo woke up to find Heero's eyes trained on his face, a small smile gracing his handsome features. 

"Hi."

Duo grinned at him foolishly. "Hi yourself."

"Last night was the best I ever slept in my entire eighty-seven years," Heero said honestly. "I think you should sleep with me more often."

Duo chuckled and buried his face in the crook of his lover's shoulder. "Mmm, definitely."

Before anything else could be said, loud shouting was heard from outside and the barn door burst open. Dozens of men filled the room, some carrying swords and others were carrying pitchforks. Relena and Sage Maxwell were at the head of it all. "Get that creature!" Sage roared and pointed at Heero.

Duo and Heero scrambled to their feet, neither boy worrying about their nudity as they faced the angry mob. "What's going on?" Duo shouted in confusion.

"Little Relena has told us everything. She told us what that.. That *thing * is. She told us how he brought a wicked beast into our land and she told us how he has seduced you and is controlling your innocent mind!" One of the village men shouted.

Duo's eyes focused on Relena; he couldn't keep the betrayal and hatred out of his gaze. Her eyes were wide and she actually looked quite terrified by the whole affair. It was the look of a girl who had done something foolish in a fit of rage and had it spin out of her control. 

"Burn the demon!" Someone else shouted and they began marching up the stairs to the hayloft.

"No!" Duo cried out and threw himself in front of Heero. "Use your powers!" He hissed at his new lover.

The blue-eyed man looked at him helplessly. "I can't! I'm still weakened from yesterday!" 

Duo's skin paled and he looked at his father desperately. "Father, please! Relena is lying! She's jealous because of Heero and I! He isn't any of those things she said he is! You have to believe me!"

Sage shook his head sadly. "He's controlling your mind, son. As soon as this demon is dead, we will find a way to cure you."

There was no more time to argue this ignorance as something came down hard on Duo's head and for the second time in two days, everything went black.

~***~

"Duo! Please wake up!" A small voice sobbed softly.

Violet eyes fluttered open and Duo groaned softly at the pain that coursed through his head. He looked over, hoping to see Heero, but instead he saw his traitorous little sister. "Get away from me, you bitch!" He hissed and shoved her to the floor. Duo looked around and saw that he was in his room. Someone had also taken the liberty of hastily dressing him in his dark breeches and tunic.

"I didn't know this would happen!" She wailed pathetically. "I.. I saw the two of you and I was so angry that I ran to Papa and I told him that Heero's a Mystic. I didn't know this would happen, I swear to the good spirits! I just wanted Mama and Papa to send him away, I didn't think they would do this!" 

Duo stared at his sister in disbelief, trying to ignore the pain in his head. "Then why in the name of everything magical did you tell him that Heero brought the beast? Why did you tell them that he is controlling my mind! Why would you say things to make him look evil?!" 

"I DIDN'T!! All I said was that he was a Mystical and the adults started saying all of the other stuff!! Now they are going to burn Heero in the center of the village and they're sending you away!"

Ice coursed through his veins, contracting his heart in his chest."They're... what?"

"In the Village Square, they're going to burn him!" 

Duo didn't wait to hear anything else; he bolted out of the house. He didn't care about his sister's explanations or his throbbing headache; all that mattered was saving Heero.

~***~

The center of the village was full of all of the 230 residents. Men, women, young and old were gathered around a large pyre. Heero was bound to the middle of it and it was obvious by the cuts and bruises on his naked body, that the villagers had done more than tie him up. He was slumped forward; his blue eyes were burning with a fierce intensity and hatred. Hatred for humans.

"Heero!"

Heero's head snapped up and he saw Duo's slender form pushing through the crowd. Different emotions raced across his face. He was happy that he could at least see Duo one more time before he died, but he was terrified that these human idiots would harm the boy.

"Duo! Stay back!" Sage Maxwell shouted and pulled Duo away from the pyre just as people began throwing flaming torches at Heero's feet. 

"No! Let me go, damn you!" Tears of frustration spilled from Duo's eyes and he fought his father roughly. "Leave him be! He's done nothing!"

The flames licked at Heero's pant legs and he fought the urge to cry out in pain. He would not let them have the satisfaction of hearing him scream. It took only moments for the entire pyre to explode into a mass of orange and red flames. The heat of it was overwhelming and the crowd was forced to back away as Heero's form was engulfed by the flames.

Then something miraculous happened. The scream Duo let loose was unlike anything any of the villagers had ever heard before. It was primal, ferocious and full of agony; it was definitely not human. Sage was so startled that he released the boy and Duo took the opportunity to race towards his lover. He did the only thing he could think of in his grief filled rage. He jumped into the pyre with Heero. The flames seemed to extend several feet outwards and up, causing the surrounding trees to catch on fire. The deadly fire was no longer orange and red, instead it burned white. It was so blinding that the villagers cried out in terror and turned their faces away. 

The magical white flames continued to burn for hours and when it finally died down, there was nothing left but ashes.

~***~

A voice was whispering softly.

"Be ok... don't die..."

It was a familiar voice and to hear it so filled with grief, broke Heero's heart.

"Heero.."

Prussian blue eyes opened and Heero stared up into Duo's worried face. "What..?"

Relief flooded the large expressive eyes and Duo sagged against the clammy wall of the dark cave. "I thought you had died. I was so scared, Heero."

The Boundary Warden sat up and wiped a hand across his soot-covered face. "How did we escape? The last thing I remember are the flames.." He looked down at himself and realized that his skin was no longer burnt. The excruciating pain was gone from his body and he was relatively unharmed.

Duo wrapped his slender arms around himself and stared out into the night sky. "I don't know, Heero. One moment I saw you burning and the next thing I knew, I was jumping into the flames with you. All of a sudden this.. Searing light seemed to explode around us and then when I opened my eyes, we were here. Wherever here is." He shuddered and closed his eyes. "I'm not even harmed from the fire and you.. when we appeared here all of your wounds were healed!"

"How can that be? I don't have that kind of power.." Heero's sentence trailed off and he stared at Duo with an inquisitive look in his eyes.

"Maybe it was a power that you didn't know you possessed and it chose that moment to come out. Whatever you did, I'm glad you did it. We would have burned like a stack of hay." Duo shivered and licked his lips. "I can't believe this has happened, just a few days ago everything was fine... and now.. Now I don't know *what's* going on."

Heero pulled the teen into his muscular arms and began stroking his hair. "It will be okay, Duo. I know you will miss your family bu---"

"No I won't!"

Heero blinked and chuckled slightly. "Well then, you can travel with me. We can cross the Boundary and live with the Mystics. We won't have to worry about those idiotic humans anymore."

Duo snorted softly. "I am an idiotic human too, you know. I can't even cross the Boundary."

Heero's lips twisted in a secret smile and he stared off into the moonlight. "Hmm.." They sat in silence for awhile, comforted by the steady beating of each other's hearts. 

"We will find a way." Duo said resolutely.

The Mystic and the longhaired boy lay together in silence. They didn't make love that night, all they wanted was to be near each other and to put the terrible memories of the day behind them. Duo fell asleep dreaming about a future with Heero and Heero fell asleep trying to figure out what race of Mystic his small lover was.

~Owari~

1 I borrowed this term from Terry Goodkind and his Sword of Truth series. I just used the word though, in his book the Boundary is used for something totally different.

2 I also borrowed this term from Goodkind. In my fic and in the book the Boundary Warden are people who kind of guard the Boundaries and make sure no one messes with it.


End file.
